Ken Ferrie

The new technology is being evaluated in Farm Journal Test Plots this fall and catching a lot of farmer interest in the process. Check out our brief video showing the system at work in a central Illinois cornfield.

It’s a head-scratcher situation: some Illinois farmers are reporting moisture levels in their corn are dropping only one point per week.

The Midwest crop is being pushed into black layer (R6) prematurely in some areas in ways that are easy to confuse with normal drydown factors.

The disease is causing turmoil for farmers who have a large crop in the making. In some cases, a Hail Mary fungicide application at R4 up to early dent (R5) might make sense this season, say agronomists.

With at least four weeks left in the growing season, Ferrie encourages farmers to stay ahead of heavy disease pressure in fields, particularly in what he calls D hybrids — those that punch their yield card late-season.

Short-stature corn is often planted at higher populations because its architecture allows for better light interception and more efficient use of resources when plants are grown closer together. But that’s not always the case, according to Ken Ferrie, Farm Journal Field Agronomist.

Just as corn growers were ready to put their pollination problems behind them, another one comes along. This time, the issue had to do with moisture occurring at the wrong time, and the results are significantly impacting yield.

So far, the problem has been confirmed in four states. Agronomists are encouraging farmers to scout crops, estimate yield impacts in affected fields and determine whether to make adjustments to marketing plans.

This year’s program features all new agronomic content to help farmers grow and harvest high-yielding crops. Two of the key sessions: selecting a corn planter that’s right for your farm, and developing a systems approach to success with early-season soybeans. We look forward to seeing you there!

In some cases, the sulfur deficiency can be traced back to last fall when ammonium sulfate and DAP were taken out of fertilizer programs to reduce costs. In other scenarios, the corn just isn’t getting adequate sulfur — but the problem can be corrected.